Lewis will fight Michael Grant at Madison Square Garden on April 29, his first bout since defeating Evander Holyfield last November for the right to refer himself as ''the undisputed.'' The TVKO pay-per-view bout is dubbed ''Two Big'' for the sizes of Lewis, who is 6 feet 5 inches, and Grant, who is 6-7.

Grant scored a 10th-round technical knockout over Andrew Golota last year, after being knocked down in the first round and trailing for most of the fight.

Lewis may not be ''the undisputed'' by fight time. Or by Friday. A United States District Court judge in Manhattan could strip Lewis of his World Boxing Association title for not making his first defense against its No. 1 contender.

The Lewis camp views the legal battle, which it says was fomented by the promoter Don King, as a way for Holyfield to fight the undistinguished John Ruiz, who is nevertheless the W.B.A.'s No. 1 contender, for the W.B.A. title.

''It's 'politricks,' '' Lewis said, using a coinage straight out of the King lexicon. ''It's the only way they can try to beat me, the only way for Don King to hold onto a belt. If Evander and I fight 10 times, I win 10 times.''

Up in the Poconos, Lewis is trying to avoid apple pie while preparing for his first defense as ''the undisputed.'' His training corps, led by Emmanuel Steward, is well seasoned, demonstrating ''how the undisputed's team works,'' he said.

The team works on Lennox Time, which usually runs late.

Here at Lewis's prefight day with the news media, he kept the curious waiting with their hot roast beef, tortellini and pasta primavera, spent 15 minutes having his hands taped by Steward, spent 20 more minutes performing calisthenics, then sparred with Jameel McCline. All without making eye contact with his watchers.

Still, eager cameramen and photographers recorded his every move.

When he spoke, he discussed what was new in his career:

*''The speed.''

*''The fact that I'm the undisputed.''

*''I don't have to deal with someone trying to head butt me all the time. (Pause) I'm talking about Evander Holyfield.''

Lewis has been working with Steward on increasing his hand speed. His size usually makes him the bigger, stronger fighter in any ring. But Grant is taller and outweighs him by 10 pounds. His comeback against Golota impressed Lewis, at least enough to praise his heart, but not enough to fret much about him.

''I'm a lot quicker and a lot stronger than Grant,'' said Lewis, who has never lacked for confidence as much as he has for charisma. ''Most of his strength is put-on strength. I have natural strength.''

McCline, at 6-6 and 257 pounds, closely approximates Grant's dimensions. ''Speed's going to kill Michael Grant,'' McCline, who sparred with Grant in 1996 and 1997, said after four rounds with Lewis. ''He'll devastate Grant.''

McCline, whose record is 22-2-1, knows what to call the camp's boss. ''I'm an up-and-comer,'' he said. ''He's the undisputed.''

What is not new in Lewis's repertory is his profile. He's the undisputed heavyweight champion (for now), but his renown suffers from a dearth of endorsements and a lack of time spent in the United States. He depends on HBO and TVKO to promote him through his fights, but past champions like Holyfield and Mike Tyson and current stars like Oscar De La Hoya are far better known.

Lewis needs to face better-known fighters to make a pay-per-view splash. Against Holyfield, pay-per-view buys averaged 1 million per fight. But the two Holyfield-Tyson bouts averaged 1.8 million apiece. For the Grant fight, TVKO is hoping for 500,000 to 750,000 purchases.

Lewis said he has some endorsement deals percolating, but has been consumed with the demands of three sanctioning organizations.

''As the undisputed,'' he said, ''I'm dealing with a lot of politics.''

Photo: A confident Lennox Lewis says that ''politricks'' are the only way to take one of his heavyweight championship belts away from him. (Agence France-Presse)